Obsolete

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 2003)

Any war movie with John Wayne isn't worth your time, even The Sands of Iwo Jima. He is no better here as the gung-ho airborne commander. I don't see what the Zanuck's saw in him other than box office exploitation.
The other day I sat down and made a list of all the war movies I'd seen, many of the embarrassing ones of my youth cropped up along the way and then I remembered The Longest Day. So, in an attempt to clear my conscience, I rented it and became sorely UN-impressed. The Longest Day has no credibility. It is too concerned with "Kraut-bashing" to be of any historical value and even the French are poorly represented. It wants to be a happy-sappy excursion in futile heroics and false patriotism. What a load of...
Many scenes have aged worse than your grandmother. What might have worked in 1962 doesn't work today. And people thought John Hughes was bad...
The depiction of war here is in the same vein as other garbage from the 50s and 60s, gung-ho and inconsequential. Patton and Platoon, among others, covered these grounds--sometimes more preachy than in other instances.
Overall, a poor excuse for a war movie. While Saving Private Ryan is a load of patriotic hooey, at least it was concerned about people and not events. For a better understanding, watch Tora! Tora! Tora! 1 out of 5 stars.